We are in the last day and the last Sunday of the year 2023. Do you know this year started on a Sunday and is also ending on a Sunday. Jan 1 was a Sunday and Jan 31st is a Sunday.
"the end of a thing is better than it’s beginning." (Ecc. 7:8)
Normally at the end of the year we have year-end appraisals at our workplaces and our performance will be reviewed for the whole year. Our performance, contribution to the team, special initiatives will be reviewed. This review will determine how much increment we will get.
If God did the appraisal for us, how much we would score?
We probably would have made many resolutions… eat healthy, exercise, read Bible daily, pray, don’t miss any Sunday. Some of you might be thinking - this is why I don’t make any resolution. Why make one and break it later? Resolutions are good. They set our goals and targets for our growth and improvement.
How can we rate ourselves as a church and as an individual?
I read this illustration online.
An active, dedicated, hard-working church member had a dream. He died and reached the heaven’s gate. As he approached the heavenly gate, he noticed a sign posted which read, "ENTRANCE REQUIREMENT: 1,000 POINTS."
The man looked a bit worried. He walked up to the angel guarding the gate and said, "That requirement seems pretty high. Do you think I could possibly have accumulated that many points?"
The angel kindly replied, "Well, why don't you tell me what you have done, and I will tell you how many points you have earned."
"OK, then," the man said enthusiastically. "I was an immersed believer in Christ for 32 years; I taught a Sunday school class for over 12 years; I was a youth leader for 5 years; and I was a regular member of the church choir!"
"That's wonderful!" said the angel. "Now let me see. That's worth -- ONE POINT."
The man suddenly became very pale and began to perspire, but he went on. "Well, I tithed all my income, and sometimes gave even more. Also I served as an elder in the church, and I served on the finance committee committee. I attended every service at the church; I’ve helped in church cleaning and painting. I helped set up the chairs and tables and then stayed late and helped take them down."
He looked expectantly at the angel, who smiled sympathetically and answered politely, "That sounds great! That's worth -- ANOTHER POINT. Now you have a total of TWO."
The man looked as if he were about to go into shock. He spoke rapidly with a sense of desperation: "I invited a lot of people to church, and often went on ministry with the preacher. I won quite a few people to Christ. I have supported a missionary family. And I never cheated on my income tax!"
The angel tried to speak encouragingly as he said, "That's quite a record of good works! That's worth still another point. Now you have -- THREE."
The poor man's face sagged with futility, and his shoulders drooped as he seemed resigned to his fate. "I may as well give up," he mourned. "I don't think I can ever be good enough to get into Heaven. In fact, it seems impossible for me or anybody else to get in there without the GRACE OF GOD."
And immediately, the gates opened.
Each of us can confess in the same way that we have come to the last day of this year, not by our efforts, our strength, our carefulness, not by our healthy lifestyle. We are here just by the grace of God.
Throughout this year, I am sure each of us can testify to God’s abundant grace. If you were able to accomplish something this year, it is because of His grace and favour. If you went through really difficult and trying times, it is His grace that sustained you.
If we look behind, we can see the fingerprints of God everywhere.
On this last Sunday, I want to remind you of two important things we need to do before we enter into 2024
1. Remember and be thankful
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deut 8:2)
Now God calls Israel to remember all that God has done for them. If you read further in chapter 8, Moses tells the people that God is going to bring them into a good land (6-10). They will eat and be satisfied (10). They are going to have abundance. They are going to enter the land where they will lack nothing. They are on the verge of entering into another phase of their life.
But before that, Moses says in vs 2 - Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years,
What things are Israelites asked to remember? Remember the provision of God – how he fed you with manna, a food no one had ever known. 4. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Today, God wants us to remember all that He has done throughout this year.
Sometimes, we take blessings to be granted so we are not grateful to God. You might say I am thankful to God, there is no need to sit in the presence of God and say Him thank you. No you need to. Because God expects this. Thanksgiving should be expressed to God. Psalm 107:1, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
Luke 17:11-14
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
We read about ten men who were suffering terribly from leprosy. If you know about leprosy, it is a dreaded disease. It causes sores, missing fingers, missing toes, damaged limbs..
The smell of rotting was terrible. They were not allowed to come close to anyone. Because the disease is contagious and alos because the rotting smell was terrible.
They were to leave their family, community. They came together. Samaritan and 9 Jews. Although they wouldn’t get along otherwise, their common tragedy made them get along.
imagine the disease 2000 years ago when there are no medical treatment available.
12.. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
In OT times, priest would check a person’s body and declare him to be a leper or a clean person.
The ten lepers would have looked down at their bodies. Their hands and legs are still in their same state. In other words, all of these men were no better off than they had been ten minutes earlier, when they had first spotted the famous teacher.
But still, they all were obedient to Jesus’ words and had faith in Him. When nothing changed, they all began to go to show themselves to the priest. And Bible says, ‘And as they went, they were cleansed.’
Miracles happen when we take a step in faith. If they waited until they were healed, maybe they would have never been healed. Lot of people put conditions on God. You cannot say, "Lord, as soon as there's enough money, I follow your instructions." You cannot pray, "Lord, if you'll just solve this issue in my family, I'll start to church." You cannot put conditions on God! Instead, God places a demand for faith on us, before anything at all has changed.
You might not see any change in your family, in your body, in your workplace, but you need to trust God and His word for a miracle to take palce.
On their way, all of them received the healing.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
16. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
We are not even sure if he first went and showed himself to the priest. Bible does not say the moment the priest declared he was healed, he came back. The moment he saw he was healed, he came back. Isn’t that amazing? He could have waited to say thanks to Jesus. Let me show myself to the priest and get his certificate of being clean. Let me meet my wife and children after who knows how many years. He did not wait.. the moment he saw he was healed, he came back to Jesus.
Everything was secondary to giving thanks to God.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Now he goes near Jesus’ feet because he was healed. He praised God in a loud voice. He wasn’t shy. He thanked him with all his heart.
What did Jesus say?
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Do you realize what this says? Jesus said, "Go, and show yourselves to the priests. Jesus never commanded that any of them express thankfulness to God, or return to him, the healer. Nevertheless, that is what Jesus expected.
His thanksgiving was not commanded. It was spontaneous.
God expects us to come back to him and say Thank you. When God does something in our life, he will not command us to thank him. Thanking God should come voluntarily. But God expects us to come back to him and thank him.
When the leper first prayed, he prayed in a loud voice with desperation. When he gave thanks, he shows the same attitude. In a loud voice, he gives thanks. He fell at his feet – near to Jesus.
People come to church regularly, fast and pray when they want something. But the moment they receive their attitude changes.
And now, look at one more word. In verse 19, Jesus says to this very thankful man, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
If he already received the healing, why did God have to say this again, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
"Made you well . . ." that's a different word. In Greek language, this is the word used for ‘saved’. Salvation.
This physical healing will not give eternal happiness, but spiritual blessing will give. His thanksgiving brought another blessing in his life. God expects gratitude but does not demand it.
James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
It could be good sleep, family, new relations/friends, good things in your workplace, your children’s achievements, food to eat, special things happened..
Today, God is looking for us to come and say Thank you. Don’t just say, Thank you God for all the blessings. That is being very lazy. Take time to list them out. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”
Secondly, you would have asked God for many things. Maybe you received some of them, maybe you didn’t receive some of them. You may not have your healing, still be financially tight, and have loads of pressure.
You expected a miracle but that didn’t happen in your life. You still need to thank God. Because if it did not happen yet, God wants you to wait so He can give you the best.
1 Thess 5:18 - give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. And Ephesians 5:20 says, " Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” You may think this was easy for Paul to say. Paul didn’t face half the problems I am facing. No, but it wasn’t the case. Paul writes Ephesians from a prison. Roman prison that Paul was in is said to dark, dirty and dim. At such a point, Paul says, give thanks always for all things.
You see, Paul suffered from a difficult physical problem that he called a “thorn in the flesh.” And besides that, he had also experienced being run out of town, beaten, whipped, imprisoned, being cold, hungry, shipwrecked, & stoned because of his faith. Yet, Paul never stopped giving thanks.
This is very important. Are you still able to thank God. If you believe He does all things for your good, thank Him not matter what. Thank God for unheard prayers, unanswered requests, trials and problems.
Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
Circumstances did not determine Daniel’s thanksgiving to God. When Daniel was taken as an exile, he thanked God. When he was promoted in Babylon he thanked God. Now when he knows he could be thrown in the lion’s den, he is still thanking God. That is the life of a mature Christian.
My circumstances do not determine my thanksgiving. I thank God because I know He is my Father. A good father. He will not give me a stone if I ask for bread. He will not give a snake if I ask for fish. He is a good, good Father. I know He has the best plans for my life. So I thank Him simply because He is my God and I love Him.
So as you list out all good things, list out all unheard prayers too and thank God.
Psalms 100:4 - Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Another important thing, when you thank God, you express your humility before God. You tell God what I am and what I have is simply because of your grace. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Do you know you can thank God out of pride also?
Luke 18:10-12
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
What is the Pharisee doing here? He is also listing out good things.. Not being a robber is good. Not being an evildoer or adulterer is good. Fasting twice a week is good. Tithing is good. Where’s the problem? There is pride in his thanksgiving. He compares himself to other people. In his thanksgiving, his attitude was that he was superior to others. Did God accept his thanksgiving? No.
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
As you go home, list out all things and Thank God with a humble heart for all blessings, unheard prayers and the grace and favour of God.
2. Forget and move on.
Isa 43:18 - Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
First point is to remember and give thanks. The second is to forget and move on.
Sometimes we keep recollecting the past – past hurt, past shame, past words, past failures. And we dwell so much on our past that we do not realise God’s work in the present. It may be the past glories/successes or the past regrets/worries. But what God did in the past, He did. What happened in the past happened. God says in this verse, do not camp on your past. It’s time to move on.
The problem is not that we think about ‘former things’ but that we choose to dwell on them. That prevents us from moving forward.
May be this year you had some regrets, missed opportunities, there are people who have wronged you. God doesn’t want you to dwell on that. You need to forget them.
First, don’t look back at sins that have been forgiven.
Maybe you committed a lot of sins this year. You think you're a bad person. Once you confess your sins to Jesus Christ and ask him forgiveness, God forgives you. All you need to remember is not to sin again. Don’t look back at the sins that you have already been forgiven. We need to learn to forgive ourselves.
Maybe you did not live up to your expectations. Maybe you failed. God in Jesus has already forgiven you. So you need to forgive yourself.
Secondly, you need to forgive others. Are there people who have offended you, hurt you? Forgive them wholeheartedly. Do not enter the new year with a grudge in your heart.
Because God says.. Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Because He wants to do a new thing in your life. If you cling on to old things, old habits, old thoughts, old grudges.. you cannot see new things in your life. Forget them and leave them behind. Don’t carry them to the new year. Forgive those whom you haven’t forgiven yet. We don't forgive another person for their sake. We do it for our sake.
Col 3:13
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man quarrel with any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
The outcome of a quarrel is not revenge or grudge, but forgiveness.
Spirit of unforgiveness can sometimes be very, very strong
“Several years ago, there was a man who was bitten by a dog. The people there soon found out that it was a rabies dog. The man was rushed to the hospital where tests revealed that he had contracted rabies. At the time, medical science had no solution for this problem, and his doctor faced the difficult task of informing him that his condition was incurable and terminal. ‘Sir, we will do all we can to make you comfortable. But I cannot give you false hope. There is nothing we can really do. My best advice is that you put your affairs in order as soon as possible.’ The dying man sank back on his bed in shock, but finally rallied enough strength to ask for a pen and some paper. He then set to work with great energy. An hour later, when the doctor returned, the man was stilling writing vigorously. ’I’m glad to see that you’re working on your will.’ ‘This ain’t no will, Doc. This is a list of the people I’m going to bite before I die.
It is a prison. Jesus spoke a parable about this
Matthew 18:23-25
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (25) But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. (26) The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
Here is a man that owes an enormous debt. How much? Vs. 24 says, 10000 talents. How much is that? One talent was the equivalent of twenty years wages. So if on an average a person gets 1000 per day, then 20 years means 20 X 365 X 1000 = 73,00,000 Rs.
This man owed how many talents? 10,000 talents, so it is 73 lakh into 10,000. Can you imagine how much money? The point was that his debt was unimaginable. There is no possible way that he could ever repay it, in his lifetime.
So the master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
What does the servant do? He knew very well he cannot pay it. Still he begs for more time.
But in reality, the master knew he can never pay it.
Vs 27 is a beautiful verse. It says, The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
Verse twenty-seven reveals that it is the character of the master not the character of the servant that gave him release from debt. The master made a decision based on compassion. “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
The master forgave his servant out of compassion for him and his family. All of us can relate to this debtor in the story. The sins and mistakes we have committed against God over the years accumulates to this much kind of debt. We can never repay this despite anything we might do. At this point, there comes the good news, the wonderful good news of the gospel; that we can be "Forgiven, in Christ’s name."
As forgiven people, we need to extend forgiveness.
Vs 28 - "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe!’ (29) So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ (30) And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
This servant of his owned him only 100 denarii.. One talent is 6000 denarii. So 100 denarii is so much less than even one talent. In other words, it is just 4 months wages as opposed to 20 years wages. Very insignificant amount. This servant who received forgiveness for 10000 talents should have forgiven him for 100 denarii, but no. He threw him into prison till he should pay everything.
What happened?
(31) So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. (32) Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. (33) Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ (34) And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. (35) "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Max Lucado, a popular writer and pastor, says Unforgiveness is a prison. It is not a prison for the people we aren’t forgiving, it is a prison for you if you are not forgiving.
So as we step into a new year, no one should enter with unforgiveness in your heart. You may be genuinely right and the other person wrong. Still, forgive them because God in Christ forgave you. Reconcile today. Make a phone call, buy a gift, shake your hands, do whatever it takes, but reconcile today. Forget the former things.. because God has a new thing in store for you
Phil 3:13-14 - 13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
Each of us will enter into new year in a few hours. You can be confident that the year 2024 will be a good year for you because God is with you. Others may be afraid, and worried. What will happen? Covid is beginning to spread again. The world is becoming more and more dangerous. What will happen to my children? But you and I need not worry, because God says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
When God is for us who can be against us. With this assurance, we are going to look forward to great things in the year 2024.
Begin to Confess words of faith over this year. Say, With God by my side, I can face my future without any fear or anxiety. You shall keep me in perfect peace Lord because my mind is stayed on you.
As God’s children today, when we look towards the future, we can draw great confidence, because Jesus says, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
His grace has been with us thus far and His grace is sufficient for us at all times.
I would like to end with a quote from Dr. James Boice, “The God of the Bible is not weak. He is strong. He is all-mighty. Nothing happens without His permission or apart from His purposes. Nothing disturbs Him or puzzles Him. His purposes are always accomplished…”
